Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Dignity

//ˈdɪɡnɪti// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The state of being dignified or worthy of esteem: elevation of mind or character. countable, uncountable

    "He uttered this ... with great majesty, or, as he called it, dignity."

  2. 2
    the quality of being worthy of esteem or respect wordnet
  3. 3
    Decorum, formality, stateliness. countable, uncountable

    "The reception room was sacred to the dead wife. Her shiny portrait hung upon the wall - similar, doubtless, in all respects to the one which would be pasted on her tombstone. A little piece of black drapery had been tacked above the frame to lend a dignity to woe. But two of the tacks had fallen out, and the effect was now rakish, as that of a drunkard's bonnet."

  4. 4
    formality in bearing and appearance wordnet
  5. 5
    High office, rank, or station. countable, uncountable

    "Note the preſumption of this Scythian ſlaue: I tel thee villaine, thoſe that lead my horſe Haue to their names tytles of dignitie, And dar’ſt thou bluntly cal me Baiazeth?"

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    high office or rank or station wordnet
  2. 7
    One holding high rank; a dignitary. countable, uncountable

    "These filthy dreamers […] speak evil of dignities."

  3. 8
    Fundamental principle; axiom; maxim. countable, obsolete, uncountable

    "Sciences concluding from dignities, and principles known by themselves."

  4. 9
    Respect. countable, proscribed, sometimes, uncountable

    "That in such an undertaking, if put on its right footing, and treated with dignity by the State, you would have the cheerful assistance of the first scientific teachers who have turned their philosophy to such practical uses, I have no doubt."

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English dignyte, from Old French dignité, from Latin dignitās (“worthiness, merit, dignity, grandeur, authority, rank, office”), from dignus (“worthy, appropriate”), from Proto-Italic *degnos, from Proto-Indo-European *dḱ-nos, from *deḱ- (“to take”). See also decus (“honor, esteem”) and decet (“it is fitting”). Cognate to deign. Doublet of dainty. In this sense, displaced native Old English weorþsċipe, which became Modern English worship.

See also for "dignity"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: dignity